Circular-knitting machine



2Sheebs -Sheet 1. W. D; HU'SE. Circular Kn'ittingMaohine.

No. 239.168. Patented March'2 2,1881.

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W. D. HUSH.

Circular Knitting Machine.

- No. 239,168. Patented March 22, 188 1.

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To all whom it may concern: r l Be-it known .that I, WARREN D. HUSE, of

y UNITEIZ) STATES: PATENT OFFICE,

WARREN 1). nose, or LAGONIA, NEW HAMPSHIRE.

' CIRCULAR-KNITTING MACHINE.

SPECIEIOATIONxformiIIg part of LettersiPatent No. 239,168, dated March 22,1881.

' Application filed November 13, 1879.

. Laconia, in the countyof; Belknap and State of New Ham pshire,haveinvented an Improved Circular-Knitting Machine; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full and exact description thereof, reference being hadto the accompanying drawings, making part of this specification.

1. Figure l is a front elevation of a circularjknittin g machine provided with my improvea Fig. 3, a top view of the same.

for knitting ribbed work, the improvements automatically supplying single threadsof (lit ferentcolors thereto, and determining the style or pattern of work in colors by mechanism constructed to be readily changeable to different patterns. The improved devicesfor this 'purposeare substantiallyas hereinafterspecified.

In thedrawin gs, A represents the revolving dialrplate of a circular-knittin g machine, carry-2 ing one setof needles,aa, and-B the needlecylinder, carrying the other set of needles, b b, for knitting ribbedworki; U is therevolving ring, carrying two thread-guides, D E, each I being suppliedwith a'different color of thread. These thread-guides are respectively mounted toits arm, sothat when one is worn out it can readily be replaced by a new one. The th readguides are alternately placed in position, one,

. outward to deliver the fthreadito the needles and the other inward backof the needles, so

that its thread will not betaken by the needles. it For alternately shifting these threadguides to these respective positions I couple M i to them respectively two vibratory levers, I J, pivoted at d to a support carried by the revolv- ,ing ring 0, and each carrying at its lower end alstud or pin, 6, arranged to ride over camprojections ff on a vertical-faced cam-disk, K,

1 which revolves on a radial pivot, g, carried by j the revolving ring 0. These cam-projections 1 are so spaced that when the Stud 6 ofone lever rides upon one of the projections the other stud is in a space between two projections, and

the levers I J are so arranged that when a stud i is moved forward by a cam-projection, f, the Ethread-guide moved thereby is carried inward i to throw its thread out of the work, and when {the stud is moved back into a space between i two cam-projections the corresponding thread;

, guide is moved outward to bring its thread to ithe work. The backward movement of the ilevers l J is effected by counter-springs 71 h. This cam-disk is automaticallymoved by a device which, with some additions, is suhstan tially the same as employed by me for alternately bringing to the surface of knit-work different colored threads for double -thread 1' knitting, as fully described in Letters Patent No. 220,924, ranted to me on the 28th da-y of October, 18793;: will therefore describe it here 1as usedvfor moving the thread-guides in the j present machine.

l are-cain-p1'oject.ions ff on the face of the disk, 1 and at regular distances apart, so that on mov ing the disk around a distance equal ,iottliex 3 space between the centers of two adjacent cogs From the periphery of the cam-disk K project cogs or teeth i i, twice as many as there i Ki i f the positions of the two thread-guides will be/ @reversed, as will be readily understood, To move the disk such a distance at'one rev'blution of the knitting-machine; a rod, L, is projectedup through a ledge, M,ot'theu achine frame far enough to strike one of the. cog-sit i on the cam-disk, the lowest inTpositiodeach time, and thus, Whenever thisrrod is projected upward into the proper position, as shown in 'fFig. l, the cam-disk is movedthe distance of "onecog every time it comes round to this rod; but when the rod is lowered out of the way the knittin g goes on without change of thread. The rod L is pivoted at its lower end to a horizontal lever, N ,vpivoted at j to the frame of the machine. This lever has a stud, k, on its :under side, which, when it rides in its lowest position, allows the rod L to sink out of the way of the cogs on the cam-disk K; but by causing the stud to ride upon a suitable projectiou the rod is raised andbrought into the pathway of the lowest cog on the cam-disk. This stud may ride on the periphery of a camwheel, as described in the aforesaid Letters Patent; but I prefer to use a sprocket-disk, 0, attached to the face of the ratchet-wheel Q, instead, and mount a pattern-chain, P, thereon, the links I l of the chain fitting over sprocketprojections m m on the said disk. This enables me to use pattern-chains with various spurs a a thereon for the stud k to ride upon, these chains being cheaply made, of various combinations of links, and very quickly changed, as I make them large enough to fit loosely around the sprocket-disk, as indicated in Fig. 1, so as to be put on and off in a moment. This also allows me to knit stockinglegs of any desired length, and another advantage is secured by the use of these chains on a sprocket-disk, since it enables me to adjust the position of the links of the chain by ads justing the disk upon the ratchet-wheel Q, to,.

which it is attached. Thus a slot, 0, in the disk and tightening-screwp, as shown, effect this purpose.

The ratchet-wheel Q is intended to be moved one tooth at each revolution of the knitting, machine, so that the positions of the tigure or change of color of thread are re idily effected. This is efl'ected by a device, as shown, similar to that employed in the said Letters Patent. Thus a set of cogs on the lower edge of the revolving ring (J gears into a cog-wheel, R, and a smaller wheel, S, on the same shaft turns a cog-wheel, T, on the shaft of which is an ee- 3 5 centric, V, which vibrates a counterweighted lever, W, which carries the pawl q .that operates the said ratchet-wheel.

The cam-disk K is held in position after each movement thereof by the rod L, by means of a friction-spring. 1, Fig. 2, bearing against its rear surface. v H

As the thread-guide either carries its thread in or out of the work the thread is automatically caught by a catch'lever, X, operating as fol- '45 lows: It is pivoted at s to a holder on the re- "Wolving ring 0, and its upper end is pressed against the edge of a plate, Y, secured to the shaft of the dial-plate and revolving ring. This pressure is produced by some spring t, and is sufficient to hold the thread thrown out of the work securely. The catch lever is opened or swung back from the plate Y to let one thread out and the other thread in at each change by means as follows: This catch-lever has on its lower end a cam, u,so formed and arranged that directly after the cam-disk is moved by the rod L to shift the thread-guides this cam also, in turn, strikes the rod L, which presses the lower end of the catch-lever inward and the upper end outward or open. The spring t again closes the catch-lever as soon as its cam passes by the said rod. Of course, when'the rod is dropped to not operate the cam-disk it does not operate the catchlever.

To insure the retention of the thread each time it is ca u ght by the catch-lever, a gage, stop, or guide, 1:, projects outward over the catch-lever from the top of the plate Y, as shown. This prevents the thread from accidentally passing beyond the catch-lever. The thread, having been caught by the catch-lever, is held from paying out, and as the thread-guide and catch-lever continue to pass round the thread is broken ofl' near the work, and the other thread alone continues the knitting, the end of thesevered thread still being held securely Jay the catch-lever, ready to be brought into the wor again at the next shifting of the threadguides The loose end of the broken thread on the work is directly swept smoothly down to the web, so as to show little or not at all in the web. This is eifected by means of a brush; Z,.of wire or other sufficiently stifi' material. on a holder, to, attached to the revolving ring O. The position of this brush is clearly shown in the drawings. T his to be understood that the threads used in the knitting are wound on bobbins carried on the yoke 2, attached to the revolving ring O in the usual manner.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. Thecoinbinationofthecain-plateY,catchlever X, provided with a cam, u, and rod L, substantially as and for the purpose herein specified.

2. The combination of the gage-stag) o, camplate Y, catch-lever X, provided with a spring, t, and cam u, and the rod L, substantially as and for the purpose herein specified.

3. The combination of the catch-lever X, provided witha spring, t, and cam u, the camplate Y, rod L, cam-disk K, levers l J, and thread-guides l) E, substantially as and for the purpose herein specified.

4. The combination ot'thebrush Z and holder 10 with the revolving ring 0 of a circularknitting machine, substantially as and for the purpose herein specified.

The foregoing specification signed by me this 13th day of October, 1879.

WARREN D. HUSE.

Witnesses W. .L. MELOHER,

JOHN T. GOFFIN. 

